Mike

Gentlemen , Thank you so much for helping with this . When it's over , I get the unpleasant job of calling and letting her know ...and I'm not looking forward to it . Anyway ..from the sound of it , only the Bavarian Pilot has a slim chance of being good (and the rings) but you'd need better pictures. Please let me know what angles or closeups you need and I'll post them Thanks --Mike

I took the closeup shots , also zoomed in but I did not adjust the color. In some cases I used a Magnifying Glass to try showing the markings ...I only saw one marked 800 - Here are both sides of the case 1st Badge -- 2nd 3d Badge 4th 5th Badge 6th Badge -- The Rings and , The Stickpin looks like an LDO # any ideas on value would also be appreciated ...The details are crisp , they are very well made , but I have no idea what lengths the fakers have gone to since I've never dealt with these badges before at all so , I have nothing to compare them to. And as I mentioned , My Collection and Library is packed up so, I have no Books to research them. I appreciate your help guys !!

Thanks Alex ..I expected there'd be issues and , I hesitated even opening up his TR case. She did point to the case and said " I bought him that Blue Max on line and know it's not real ...but we couldn't afford a real one" ..so, she's been very honest from the start . I'll take out the case and post closeups of each side later tonight ...and thanks for the help. You're right ..she's older and counting on some money to help with expenses.

any tips on how to Vet these posters ?

Hello Gents , It's been a while ....Unfortunately an old friend and fellow collector passed away 4 months ago and his Widow had me pick up his Collection. She asked for help selling it all off since he told her not to trust any of the Dealers. His main focus was WW1 and at one point I remember him having 15 Spiked Helmets ..I only found 1 ...many of his items seemed to be missing and she didn't remember him selling anything off. One of his favorite Blades was a Chained SS he bought from Chip Gambino ...it was nowhere to be found. Not even one Sword was in the group. He was in bad shape at the end and the Meds took their toll so , I'm wondering if he hid things around the House or, sold things off without telling her. She plans on moving so, she told me she'll search the House to make sure ...if he did hide anything , I hope she finds it. Anyway ...my main focus has been WW2 for over 50 years so , these WW1 Badges are not in my "comfort zone" ...And to complicate things, we're in the process of escaping from NY and moving to NH and my whole collection is packed up including all of my Reference Books ..I'm working blind on these and would appreciate any help vetting them. He left her a book listing what he paid for items and what he felt they were worth but , she can't find the book right now. The main thing right now is knowing if his Pilot Badges are correct ....I dread telling a Widow that her Husband left her hi-end fakes. Let me know what you think and if you want any specific angles or closeups posted. Thanks (I'm attaching large files so, I'm only allowed 2 per post)

Hi Pierce , Thanks for posting the closeups ... Howard is a very good friend of mine . I’ve known him for years and unlike many of our “illustrious” dealers in this Hobby , I know he’d never misrepresent anything in the name of a Buck. I didn’t have any problems with the Medals themselves ….but the Paper Tag didn’t make sense to me at all. I’m glad Tom posted his examples so we have something to compare now. Thanks for coming back on that Thread

I'll have to get better close up shots since ..this won't do.

These Bars were recently sold on another site ..but now they are being questioned. One Collector feels they are repros from Austria. I’ll admit that I’ve never seen a paper tag attached like that …any thoughts ?

Hi Gents ..Thought I'd share my latest find with you. This is the first one I've ever had a chance to buy. It's not mint but , it sure made my day !

Hi Heiko , That's a "Lewis Gun" ...more can be found on it here -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Gun Even deactivated or Dummy versions of this MG are not easy to find so ..Chris is very lucky to own one.

Nice shots Chris !! I remember back when you first got the 08 ...looks like the "Family" has grown now . What's next ? Are you going to add a Vickers to the group ?

Hi Rick ! Thanks for posting the list but ..Personally , I think you should have "added" some creative serial numbers for the fakers to copy and we could have kept it as an inside joke. You could have started the series with # 69-i-8-1-2 ...or added a letter prefix to the number for them to copy. That would have made spotting the repros a lot more entertaining for us. :whistle:

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